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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Kentucky Derby Futures Offer Exacta Betting For First time

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 10, 2009) – What could be more fun that picking the winner of the $2 million-guaranteed Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) weeks before the race is run? How about picking the top two finishers in the “Run for the Roses” and cashing one of the first winning exacta tickets in the 11-year history of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (“KDFW”).

Both opportunities will be available to Kentucky Derby fans across North America as exacta wagering joins the traditional “win” bet on the wagering menu for the first time as Pool 2 of the 2009 Kentucky Derby Future Wager opens its four-day run at noon (EDT) on Thursday, March 12. The addition of the exacta, which requires bettors to select the 1-2 finishers in the famed “Run for the Roses” in the correct order, marks the first major change in the Derby Future bet since it was introduced in 1999.

As usual, KDFW Pool 2 features 24 wagering interests that consist of 23 horses and the always popular mutuel field, which includes all 3-year-old Thoroughbreds other than the pool’s individual horses. Churchill Downs oddsmaker Mike Battaglia’s morning line odds for Pool 2 list “all others”, the 9-5 fan’s choice in February’s opening pool of the 2009 Derby Future Wager, as the 8-1 co-favorite with Fox Hill Farm’s unbeaten Old Fashioned. The latter was the favored individual horse in Pool 1 at odds of 7-1.

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager provides fans with an opportunity to wager on contenders for America’s greatest race at odds that could be much greater than those available on the day of the race. Both the KDFW “win” and exacta bets are $2 minimum wagers. Payouts will be determined by the odds that are in place at the conclusion of betting at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 15. Kentucky Derby fans will be hoping for generous return on their wager in the March 12-15 pool that would rival the opening pool of 2003, which saw Derby winner Funny Cide return $188 for a $2 Pool 1 Derby Future bet. A $2 Kentucky Derby Day “win” wager on Funny Cide paid only $27.60.

Battaglia’s morning line estimates could change significantly during Pool 2’s four-day run as 10 of its wagering interests are scheduled to compete during a busy weekend of Kentucky Derby prep races that include the $600,000 Louisiana Derby (GII) at Fair Grounds, the $300,000 Rebel (GII) at Oaklawn Park, the $200,000 San Felipe (GII) at Santa Anita, and the $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby (GIII) at Tampa Bay Downs.
Old Fashioned is scheduled to run in the Rebel, while co-third choice Pioneerof the Nile (10-1) will compete in the San Felipe. Friesan Fire (12-1) heads the Louisiana Derby. Others highly regarded horses in the pool include 10-1 co-third choices The Pamplemousse, winner of the Sham (GIII), and I Want Revenge, winner of the Gotham (GIII). I Want Revenge was a 54-1 shot at the close of KDFW Pool 1, but opens at 10-1 in Pool 2 following his 8 ½-length Gotham romp last week at Aqueduct.

Betting interests in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager pools are selected by a panel that includes Mike Watchmaker, Daily Racing Form national handicapper; Brad Free, West Coast correspondent for the Daily Racing Form; and John Asher, vice president of racing communications at Churchill Downs.

Real-time odds on Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager are available on the official Kentucky Derby Web site at http://www.kentuckyderby.com.